Friction drive for garden tractors



Aug. 22, 1950 J. J. EDWARDS 2,519,749

' FRICTION DRIVE FOR GARDEN TRACTORS Filed Aug. 5, 1946 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. James Edwards Aug. 22, 1950 J. J. EDWARDS FRICTION DRIVE F OR GARDEN TRACTORS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 Filed Aug. 5, 1946 6 md NW N W r md w E 0 z A U s m a v. S h @m x a mm Aug. 22; 1950 J. J. EDWARDS FRICTION DRIVE FOR GARDEN TRACTORS Filed Aug. 5, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR. James J Edwards 14% A tier/veg Patented Aug. 22,; 1950 STATES 8 2,519,749, Fn o'noN DRIVE Foe GARDEN TRACTORS James J. Edwards, Siler City, N. C. h Application August 5, 1946, Serial No. 688,468

This invention relates to garden tractors. An object of the inventionis the provision of a tractor designed for use'on small tracts of land, said tractor including a longitudinal frame to one face of which is secured a transversely disposed axle on which is mounted traction wheels, a pair of tubesbeing' secured longitudinally to the upper o'r'other face of the frame, a yoke having tubular arms which are received 'by a pair of the ends of the tubes for carrying implements or accessories, friction means rotated by a power plant on the frame and movable into engagement with the peripheries of the wheels for causing rotation of said wheels, the power plant having operative connections with the accessories for cultivating the tracts or fordoing odd chores, such as operating a saw, a grinding wheel or a pump. Another object of the invention is the provision of a simple and efiicient tractor designed for use on small tracts of land, said tractor inr eluding awheelsupported frame having a pair of open-ended tubes secured longitudinally on said frame, each pair of the open ends of the tubes adapted to receive the arms of a yoke to which isfattached an accessory such as a cultivator, a rake, a plow or a lawn mower, any one of said accessories being driven through operative connections witha power plant which in turn revolves the wheels carrying the frame, means being incorporated in the connections between the Wheelsand the power plantfor varying thespeed fifj ftravelof tractor. r further object of the invention is the proviof a practical and compact machine for chin 'having aframe carried by a pair of wheels, afiexibleshaft" being mounted in bearings which are slidable onside bars of the frame, each bearr am under the control; of the operator so that 'either bearing may be manually manipu in elevationof the tractor m F gure 1 a arious c horeson a tract of land, said ma 1 Claim. (Cl. 180-6.2)

Figure 3'is a longitudinal vertical section-taken along the line 3-3 of Figure l. a Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 1. Figure 5 is a fragmentary view of the tractor showing the mechanism for operatinga sliding bearing, and

Figure 6 is a transverse vertical section take along the line 6-6 of Figure 5. Y

Figure 7 is a transverse vertical section taken along the line 'fl of Figure 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, l0 and H designate side bars of a frame generally indicated by the numeral 12. The side bars are joined at their ends by a front end bar l3and a rear end bar I4. All of the bars are made of channel iron.

An axle I5 is enclosed in a housing l5a which is carried by depending brackets l6, secured to the side bars ID and ll. Wheels l1 and l'l-a, mounted on the axle, support the frame 12 above the ground.

Legs l8 pivotally mounted at I!) on the ends of the side bars aid in supporting the frame [2 in a horizontal position when the tractor is at rest or when certain accessories are employed; and when transportation is not required; A resilient clip 20 is secured on each side-bar adjacent a leg for retaining each leg in aninoperative position when desired. a

A power plant 2| of any well-known construction, such as an internal combustion engine, is secured to a plate 22 which in turn is attached to the side bar I! at one end while the other end of said plate is bolted at 23' to a tube 24 welded to the opposite end bars at openings in said end bars. A fuel tank .25 is also carried by said plate.

A second tube 26 has its open ends welded to the opposite end bars at openings in said bars and in parallel relation with the tube 24. Each tube'is spaced equally distant from the longitudinal center line of the frame l2.

A fork or yoke 30 has the free ends of its arms received by the open ends of the tube' 2 l" and 26 at the front of the tractor. A bracket 3| projects forwardly of the yoke and carries a bear-' ing 32 (Figures 2 and 3) in which is mounted a depending shaft 33. A collar 34 rests on said a bearing and is secured to the shaft by a set'screw' 35. A pulley 35 is secured to the upper end of the shaft and is disposed in a. horizontal position.-

' Any suitable cultivator or rake 3'! is removably attached to the lower end of the shaft. The arms of said yoke are held removably in place in-thetubes by plns'38 orby setscrews,

A second yoke 39 has its arms 40 received by the rear open ends of the tubes 24 and 25 and held removably in place by the pins 4!. Set screws may be employed for the purpose as is wellknown. A bracket 42 extends rearwardly from the yoke 39- and carries a bearing 43 for a shaft 44 to the ends of which are secured pulleys 45 and 46 for a purpose to be presently described.

A shaft 50 mounted in bearings secured to the side bar it! and the plate 22 is driven by the engine 24. Spaced pulleys 53, 54, 55 and 56 are secured to the shaft 50. A twisted belt 51 is trained over the pulleys 55 and 56 for rotating the implement 31 when desired. .A belt .58 is trained on the grooved pulleys 45 and 53 for rotating the shaft 44 and the grooved pulley 48 from which power may be derived for operating a saw, pump or other accessory.

Pulleys 60 attached to the ends of a shaft-6i mounted in bearings 52 carried by the arms of the yoke 39 may be employed for driving accessories at the front end of the tractor. A pulley 53 at an intermediate point on the shaft 8| is driven by a belt 64 trained'on the pulleys 5,5 and 63 when the belt 57 has been removed from the pulley 55 and the tractor is in a stationary position.

A flexible shaft generally designated by the number 65 and composed of a number of sections, has stationary bearings 56 attached to the tubes 24 and'26 and movable bearings 51 and -53 slidably mounted respectively on the side bars it and H. A pulley i8 is secured to the shaft 55 and is driven by a belt ll trained on said pulley and the pulley 56 LFigure 1).

A friction pulley 12 has a groove which neatly receives the tire on the wheel I! at one side of the frame and is .slidably keyed to one end of the flexible shaft 55. A spring 1.3 on said end of the shaitand disposed between a nut 34 and the hub of the pulley l2 maintains the pulley in contact with the tire of the wheel I? so that when the shaft 55 is revolved, the pulley l2 and likewise the wheel ll will be revolved. V

i .A-=,gro c-ved friction pulley 1:5 is slidably keyed to the other end of the shaft -65 and a similar construction. ncluding :a spring 13 and nut it retain the, pulley in operative relation with the tire e-f'the wheel l'l-a.

A bell crank it pivoted at H on a block ll-11 secured to the inner .face of the side bar it has an arm pivotallyeonnected to one end of a rod (Figure 5). The other end of the rod has pivotal connections 18 with a depending arm Z-9-a onthe bearing -67 at the left hand side of the frame. 7

The upper flange 80 of each side bar has aslot 8! received by rivets 82 carried by the bearings 1'37, and 6.8. The hea s of the rivets maintain the bearings, in place.

A red 85 pivotally connected .at 85-41 to the other arm of the bell crank 1.6 and associated with a handle .88 is adapted to rock said bell crank and shift 'the red 18, which in turn causes reciprocation of the. bearing 6'5 for moving the grooved pulley Z2 intoorou-t of operative engage ment. with the tire on the wheel 5;. 7 grip 8;! is attached to the rear of the 85 so that when the rod is pulled rearward-1y, the groevedpulley will be :moaed into engagement with the tire on the wheel I] to cause rotation of said wheel. The bell crank is. pivoted.

A rod 88 associated handle 89 which is secured at its inner end to the side bar H has the inner end thereof pivotailv connected to onearm A hand 98 of a bell crank 9! that is pivoted on a block 92 secured to the inner face of the channel bar H of the frame (Figure 2). A rod 93 has one end pivotally attached to an arm 94 of the bell crank while the other end of the rod has pivotal connections with an arm 95 depending from the slidable bearing 68 for the shaft 65. Reciprocation of the rod 88 will shift the bearing 68. A hand grip 96 attached to the rear end of the rod 88 is provided for actuating manually said rod for reciprocating the bearing 68 to move the pulley '15 into engagement with the tire on wheel l'|a. to cause rotation of said wheel independently of the wheel 11.

A lever 91 is secured to a shaft 98 mounted for rotation in the handles 36 and 89 (Figure 2). A pawl 99 slidabl-y mounted in a guide I08 on said lever is adapted to engage the teeth of an arcuate rack .151 also mounted on said handle 89. A spring-controlled lever Hi2 pivoted on the lever 91 is connected to the pawl 99 and is adapted to remove the pawl from the rack IBI when actuated manually. A ring H33 engages over the hand grip for retaining the pawl in an inoperative position.

Referring more particularly to Figure '7, it will be seen that the lower free end of the .lever 9! has a loop ill-5 which receives the rod 88 adjacent apin 1B6 carried by said rod so that when the lever is rocked in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 2, the loop will engage the pin and force the rod 88 rearwardly to slide the bearing 68 rearwardly and move the pulley 15 into engagement with the wheel l'la.

A lever it? (Figure 1) has one end secured to the shaftpfifi adjacent the handle 86. A loop I88 similar to the loop 535 is connected to the other end of the lever [0i and receives the rod 85. A pin 1B8 carried by the rod 85 is engaged by said loop when the lever 9'! is rocked forwardly to draw said rod rearwardly for reciprocating the bearing -63 which action moves the pulley into engagement with the wheel I! simultaneously with the movement of the-pulley 15 for contact with the-wheel !;?-a. .A second pin H! is carried by the rod v88 spaced from the pin with the loop H 5 normally disposed midway between said pins when the lever 97 is at right angle to the arm 89 and in a neutral position (Figure 2'). The rod has a similar pin H2 spaced from the pin H39.

When the lever 91 is rocked rearwardly the loops and [.08 act on the respective pins Ill and 1 it. to force the rods Y85 and 88 forwardly. releasing the pulleys l5 and 12. The spacing of the pins is such that the rods;85 and 88 may be actuated independently of each other.

Theoperation of the tractor is as follows:

A cultivator, weeder or small plow is attached to a fork similar to the fork 39. This fork, so equipped, is mounted in the rear ends of the tubes land 26. At other times rake 3? Or a lawn mower may be applied to the front ends of a fork such as shown at 30.

The pulleys til (Figure 1) at the front end may be employed for driving a mower or other attachment. The pulley 46 may be used as a power take-off when the tractor is stationary, for operating various instrumentalities such as saws, pumps, of various kinds, or grinders.

With the lever 19-! moved rearwardly and the 1o0psl65 and .88 pressing against the respective pins E l I and l2 the tractor will remain inn stationary posit-ion. However, as soon as the lever is moved forwardly. the pulleys l2 and I5 will be drawn into operative engagement with the'tire on the respective wheels I! and l'|-a and the tractor will move forwardly.

Shifting of the pulleys I2 and '15 on the ends of the flexible shaft 65 does not affect the tension of the belt H trained on the pulleys 56 and 10 since the central portion of the shaft is stationary in the bearings 66.

The spring 13 pressing on the pulleys l2 and 15 will cause the side surfaces of the grooved pulleys to engage completely the side surfaces of the tires for full frictional contact between said surfaces.

When it is desired to turn the tractor toward. the left, the lever 91 is moved to the position shown in Figure 2, so that the loops I05 and I08 are midway between the respective pairs of pins l06| u and |us l2, whence the rod as may be drawn rearwardly for causing pulley I5 to engage and rotate the wheel l":-a while wheel I! remains idle.

When the rod 85 is drawn rearwardly with the lever 91 in neutral position (Figure 2) the wheel I1 will be rotated while the wheel I'I-a will remain idle and the tractor will turn to the right.

When the lever 91 is in the neutral position shown in Figure 2, pulleys l2 and 15 are out of contact with the tire on the respective wheels I! and I 'l-a. When the hand grip 81 is drawn rearwardly by the left hand of the operator, the right hand will hold the outer end of the handle 89 with the fingers of said hand being disposed between the handle 89 and the hand grip 96, so that the rod 88 cannot be moved rearwardly at this time.

The fingers on the left hand of the operator are disposed between the outer end of the handle 86 and the hand grip 81 when the member 96 is drawn rearwardly by the right hand for making a left turn.

The power plant 2| may include any conventional construction of clutch, indicated generally at I I3, operable through suitable links and levers (not shown) While I have shown and specifically described the invention, this is by way of illustration only, and I consider as my own all such modifications in construction as fairly fall within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A friction drive for a garden tractor comprising a frame, a pair of wheels supporting the frame, a slidable bearing on each side of the frame, a flexible shaft mounted in the bearings, a power plant carried by said frame for rotating the shaft, a grooved friction pulley in line with each wheel and secured to the shaft, manual means for each bearing for causing shifting of the bearings independently of each other for moving a friction pulley into and out of engagement with an associated wheel, handles projecting rearwardly from the frame, a shaft carried by the free ends of said handles, an operative lever secured intermediate the ends thereof to the shaft adjacent one handle, a second lever secured to the shaft adjacent the other handle, and cooperating means between the manual means and the levers for causing simultaneous shifting of the bearings when the first lever is rocked.

JAMES J. EDWARDS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 583,749 Hertel June 1, 1897 1,005,291 Owen Oct. 10, 1911 1,115,854 McDaniels Nov. 3, 1914 1,436,373 Walk Nov. 21, 1922 2,176,261 Kelsey Oct. 17, 1939 2,250,391 Ober July 22, 1941 2,260,344 Shaw Oct. 28, 1941 2,298,054 Howell Oct. 6, 1942 

